1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technology of controlling an output operation for playback sound of a portable player of an audio device in which the portable player can be installed as one of plural audio sources.
2. Description of the Related Art
As an audio device in which a portable player can be installed as one of plural audio sources, there is known an audio device that includes a display device, an input device, and an audio output unit such as a speaker or an audio amplifier, receives an operation of the connected portable player from a user through a user interface using the display device and the input device, controls a playback operation of the portable player, and outputs playback sound input from the connected portable player through the audio output unit (for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-175685, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2006-48867).
Also, as a technology of controlling a playback operation of an audio device that performs a playback output of a song, there is known a technology of voice control that recognizes voice generated by a user and controls a playback operation of an audio device in accordance with the content as a result of voice recognition (for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2005-85433).
In the above-described audio device in which the portable player can be installed as one of the audio sources, if the connected portable player is controllable by voice generated by the user, the generated voice of the user received by a microphone included in the audio device may be transferred to the portable player and hence the portable player may be controlled by the voice control.
However, in this case, since the audio device cannot recognize the content of control made on the portable player by voice control, the audio device cannot perform an operation that matches the control content of the portable player by the voice control.
That is, for example, when the audio device outputs sound of an audio source (for example, radio) other than the portable player, if the user performs voice control that causes the portable player to start a playback operation, it is proper to perform an operation of changing the sound to be output to sound that is output by the portable player. However, the audio device cannot recognize whether the content of voice control is control of starting a playback operation of the portable player or control of some other operation not relating to the playback operation. Thus, the audio device cannot perform a proper operation.